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So what is happening in my garden?

Wow, what a weekend. Yesterday was another gorgeous hot summers day, went to the beach in the morning and then came back home and got straight into it.
So what is happening in the Bonner’s vege garden? Thought you might like to know what is literally happening in each bed …

RB1 – Kumara seems to be growing slowly, I suspect that it might be because the summer has been very hot. The cucumber in here which is ‘bed sharing’ is also suffering, although the thyme and rosemary are looking splendid.

RB2 – Carrots … hmm where are they? Time to chuck out the old seed packets as carrots need to be fresh to germinate and that is evident now. The radishes are doing brilliantly, just wish we ate more of them. Nothing happening with the Welsh bunching onion nor the spring onions broadcast here. They didn’t germinate and now the alyssum has taken over. I suspect again, that while germinating the bed may have dried out.
The chilli is coming along nicely in this bed, as are the flowers and herbs. There is lots of mulch in this bed protecting the soil from the elements.

More garden madness .. a jumble of green

RB3 – Hoisted out the dwarf beans the other day they were disappointing, although probably my fault as they should have had some support to clamber over. The painted sage is dying and the sunflowers are also looking sad. This bed needs more mulch to cover that ground until the next planting.

RB4 – What a garden! Doing fabulously. Loving the toms, but next year I will plant them further apart and stake them better. Zuccs have been prolific but the powdery mildew has taken over – always happens in Auckland, blame the humid environment. I could set up an organic spraying program, but think that the plants are most likely on their ‘last legs’. The chickpeas are growing chickpeas and hopefully adding nitrogen to the soil which was the reason for planting them. My lovely zinnias are looking beaut although I noticed today that one is dying. There is loads of spinach in this bed, which the chooks loved being tossed over the fence as an afternoon treat!
The perennial chilli doing fabulously ..

Just what you don’t want in your garden – green shield beetles. Nymph and adult stage

RB5a – The capsicum and banana peppers are on the stunted side even though they are producing – whereas the chillies in this space are really starting to grow. Lots of self seeded borage, weeds, calendula and alyssum.

RB6 – Loads of beans, lots of flowers and bee activity. The cucs are doing well although some have been a tad bitter (lack of water). The eggplant in here is doing poorly as it always does in my garden!

Mr Bumble enjoying the zinnia

For those that aren’t sure … RB stands for ‘raised bed’ … giving them numbers helps immensely with what goes where and when.

A Wool carder bee enjoying the lemon bergamot. It doesn’t live in the usual hive, doesn’t sting, but is amazingly territorial!

I fertilised all my vege gardens yesterday … totting watering cans of seaweed and comfrey tea combined and then lavishly splashing it over those plants and myself of course …
Also removed about 5kg of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, Cherokee and Black Krim … and while gardening I was munching away on the smaller Tommy Toe variety. Time to make some passata!

My hubby’s Dad has been staying with us and he just so happens to love cooking. Thanks for all those jars of Damson jam Bill! Did I say that we have been making Damson vodka? Delicious stuff.

Loving the runner beans … got a wonderful harvest this weekend! Lots more to tell .. how about next post, tomorrow!!!